Barker Bookstore

New! Click here to browse our new Adoption Resources Store, powered by Amazon.

Here's a recommended bibliography of adoption-related books we find especially well-written and worthwhile. For your convenience, we've linked them to Amazon where you can read more about each title, including reviews from the critics and general readers.

Thinking About Adoption

Johnston, Patricia I.
 , Adopting After Infertility , Indianapolis, Indiana , Perspectives Press , 1992
Johnston, Patricia I.
 , Launching a Baby's Adoption: Practical Strategies for Parents and Professionals , Indianapolis, Indiana , Perspectives Press , 1997
Pertman, Adam
 , Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution is Transforming America , New York , Basic Books , 2000

Adoptive Parenting

Melina, Lois
 , Making Sense of Adoption: A Parent's Guide , New York , Harper and Row , 1989
Jana Wolff
 , Secret Thoughts of an Adoptive Mother (Paperback)
Melina, Lois
 , Raising Adopted Children: Practical Reassuring Advice for Every Adoptive Parent , New York , Harper & Row , 1986
Watkins, Mary and Susan Fisher
 , Talking With Young Children About Adoption , New Haven , Yale University Press , 1995
Adesman, Andrew and Adamec, Christine
 , Parenting Your Adopted Child , New York, NY , McGraw-Hill , 2004
Jewett, Claudia
 , Helping Children Cope with Separation and Loss, Revised , Boston, MA , Harvard Common Press, Inc. , 1994
MacLeod, Jean and Macrae, Sheena (editors)
 , Adoption Parenting: Creating a Toolbox, Building Connections , Warren, NJ , EMK Press , 2006

General Adoption Issues

Bothum, Linda
 , When Friends Ask About Adoption: Question and Answer Guide for Non-Adoptive Parents and Other Caring Adults. , Chevy Chase, MD , Swan Publishing , 1987
Brodzinsky, David & M. Schecter (Eds)
 , The Psychology of Adoption , New York , Oxford University Press , 1990
Patricia Irwin Johnston
 , Adoption Is a Family Affair!: What Relatives and Friends Must Know (Paperback)
Glazer, Ellen Sarasohn
 , The Long-Awaited Stork: A Guide to Parenting After Infertility , New York , Lexington Books , 1990
Kirk, David
 , Shared Fate: A Theory and Method of Adoptive Relationships , Port Angeles, Washington , Ben-Simon Publications , 1984
Krementz, Jill
 , How It Feels to Be Adopted , New York , Dial Press , 1982
Johnston, Patricia Irwin
 , Adoption is a Family Affair! What Relatives and Friends Must Know , Indianapolis, IN , Perspectives Press , 2001

Domestic Adoption

Gritter, James (Ed.)
 , Adoption Without Fear , San Antonio , Corona Pub. Co. , 1989
Gritter, James L.
 , The Spirit of Open Adoption , Washington, DC , CWLA Press , 1992
Melina, Lois Ruskai and Sharon Kaplan Roszia
 , The Open Adoption Experience: A Complete Guide for Adoptive and Birth Families , New York , HarperCollins , 1993
Silber, Kathleen and Patricia Dorner
 , Children of Open Adoption and Their Families , San Antonio, Texas , Corona Publishing Co. , 1990

Lifelong Issues

Sarah Saffian
 , Ithaka: A Daughter's Memoir of Being Found (Paperback)
Brodzinsky, David
 , Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self , New York , Doubleday , 1992
Pavao, Joyce M.
 , The Family of Adoption , Boston, MA , Beacon Press , 1998
Rosenberg, Elinor
, The Adoption Life Cycle: The Children and Their Families Through the Years , New York , The Free Press , 1982
Simon, Rita and Howard Alstein
 , Adoption, Race, and Identity: From Infancy To Adolescence , New York , Praeger Press , 1982
Van Gulden, Holly and Lisa M. Bartels-Rabb
 , Real Parents, Real Children; Parenting the Adopted Child , New York , Crossroads Publishing Co. , 1995

Suggested Resources for Professionals

James, Arleta
 , Brothers and Sisters in Adoption , Indianapolis, IN , Perspectives Press , 2009
Javier, Rafael; Baden, Amanda; Biafora, Frank; Camacho-Gingerich, Alina
, Handbook of Adoption , Sage Publications , 2007

Birth Parent Concerns

Leslie Foge and Gail Mosconi
 , The Third Choice: A Woman's Guide to Placing A Child for Adoption , Berkeley, CA , Creative Arts Book Co. , 1999
Lindsay, Jeanne Warren
 , Pregnant? Adoption Is an Option: Making an Adoption Plan for a Child , Buena Park, CA , Morning Glory Press , 1997
Mason, Mary Martin
 , Out of the Shadows: Birthfathers' Stories , Rockford, Illinois , The Howard Center , 1995
Melina, Lois Ruskai and Sharon Kaplan Roszia
 , The Open Adoption Experience: A Complete Guide for Adoptive and Birth Families , New York , HarperCollins , 1993
Roles, Patricia
 , Saying Goodbye to a Baby: birth parents Guide to Loss and Grief in Adoption , Washington, DC , CWLA , 1989
Romanchik, Brenda
 , Being A Birth Parent: Finding Our place , Royal Oak, Michigan , R-Squared Press , 1999

Special Adoption Issues

Edelstein, Susan B.
 , Children With Prenatal Alcohol & or Other Drug Exposure: Weighing the Risks of Adoption , Washington, DC , CWLA , 1995
Gray, Deborah D.
 , Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents , Indianapolis, Indiana , Perspectives Press , 2002
Hopkins-Best, Mary
 , Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft , Indianapolis, Indiana , Perspectives Press , 1997
Jewett, Claudia
 , Adopting the Older Child , Boston , Harvard Common Press, Inc. , 1978
Keck, Gregory C. and Robin M. Kupecky
 , Adopting the Hurt Child: Hope for Families with Special Needs Kids , Colorado Springs: Colorado , Pixon Press , 1995
Maskew, Trish
 , Our Own: Adopting and Parenting the Older Child , Longmont, CO , Snowcap Press , 1999
Simon, Rita and Howard Alstein
 , Adoption Across Borders , Lanham, Maryland , Rowman & Littlefield Publishing , 2000
Gail Steinberg, Beth Hall
 , Inside Transracial Adoption , Indianapolis, Indiana , Perspectives Press , 2000
Hughes, Daniel
 , Building the Bonds of Attachment: Awakening Love in Deeply Troubled Children , New York, NY , Jason Aronson , 2006

International Adoption

Dorow, Sarah (Ed.)
 , I Wish for You a Beautiful Life: Letters from the Korean Birth Mothers of Ae Ran Won to Their Children , Paul, MN , Yeong & Yeong , 1999
Miller, Margi and Nancy Ward
 , With Eyes Wide Open: A Workbook for Parents Adopting International Children , Minneapolis, MN , Children’s Home Society Of Minnesota, LN Press, Inc. , 1996
Register, Cheri
 , "Are Those Kids Yours?": American Families with Children Adopted from Other Countries , New York, NY , The Free Press , 1991
Register, Cheri
 , Beyond Good Intentions , St. Paul, MN , Yeong & Yeong Book Co. , 2005
Brodzinsky, Anne Braff
 , The Mulberry Bird , Indianapolis, IN , Perspectives Press , 1996

Books for Kids

Cole, Joanna
 , How I was Adopted , New York, NY , Morrow Junior Books , 1995
Katz, Karen
 , Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale , New York, NY , Henry Holt and Co. , 1997
McCutcheon, John and Paschkis, Julie
 , Happy Adoption Day! , New York, NY , Little, Brown & Co. , 1996
Schoettle, Marilyn
 , W.I.S.E. Up Powerbook , Silver Spring, MD , Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) , 2000

Personal Adoption Stories

Larkin, Alison
 , The English American , New York, NY , Simon & Schuster , 2008
Prager, Emily
 , Wuhu Diary , New York, NY , Anchor Books , 2002
Robinson, Katy
 , A Single Square Picture: A Korean Adoptee’s Search for Her Roots , New York, NY , Berkley Books , 2002
Tucker, Neely
 , Love in the Driest Season , New York, NY , Crown Publishers , 2004

Adopted Persons

Brodzinsky, David
 , Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self , 1992
Brooks, Thomas
 , A Wealth of Family: An Adopted Son’s International Quest for Heritage, Reunion and Enrichment , 2006
Eldridge, Sherrie
 , Twenty Life Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make , 2003
Fessler, Ann
 , The Girls Who Went Away , 2006
Franklin, Lynn
 , May the Circle Be Unbroken , 1997
Gediman, Judith and Brown, Linda
 , Birth Bond: Reunions Between Birth Parents and Adoptees – What Happens After , 1991
Hern, Katie and Carlson, Ellen. Reunion
 , A Year in Letters Between a Birthmother and the Daughter She Couldn’t Keep , 1999
Howe, David and Feast, Julie
 , Adoption, Search and Reunion: The Long Term Experience of Adopted Adults , 2000
Lee, Ellen
 , Once they Hear My Name: Korean Adoptees and Their Journeys to Find Identity , 2008
Pavao, Joyce
 , The Family of Adoption , 1998
Rosenberg, Elinor
 , The Adoption Life Cycle; The Children and Families Through the Years , 1992
Russell, Marlou
 , Adoption Wisdom: A Guide to the Issues and Feelings of Adoption , 2000
Schaeffer, Carol
 , The Other Mother: A Woman’s Love for the Child She Gave Up for Adoption , 1991
Schooler, Jane
 , Searching for the Past: The Adopted Adult’s Unique Perspective , 1995
Simon, Rita; Roorda, Rhonda
 , In Their Own Voices – Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories , 2000
Strauss, Jean
 , Beneath a Tall Tree , 2001
Strauss, Jean
 , The Guide to Search and Reunion for Adoptees, Birthparents and Adoptive Parents , 1994
Trenka, Jane Jeong
 , Outsiders Within; Writing On Transracial Adoption , 2006
Trinder, Liz, Feast, Julia and Howe, David
 , The Adoption Reunion Handbook , 2004